| The Big Bad City by Ed McBain is a mystery novel of the 87 Precinct series. The Big Bad City grabs the readers' interest immediately. The novel takes place in New York, the city that never sleeps. The city has mysteries developing and crimes occurring on a daily basis; the novel well represents New York and its police force. The two detectives, Steve Carella and Arthur Brown deal with their own issues throughout the novel, but Carella is the main detective. The Big Bad City's main mystery is the death of a young nun. There are two smaller mysteries that take place during the novel. One is about a robber who leaves cookies in every house that he robs, and the other is about a killer named Sonny Cole who killed the detective's father.
Sister Mary Vincent, a young nun is found dead in a New York City park. Detectives, Steve Carella and Arthur Brown investigate the murder. They question her friends and family and then they come across some interesting information. The detectives discover this young woman had anything but a simple life. They soon learn that Sister Mary Vincent, or Katie, had plastic surgery which lead them to finding out that she was a singer in a rock band. While the detectives try to solve the mystery of the death of Sister Mary Vincent, the mystery of The Cookie Boy is also in the process of being solved. This mysterious character is a professional thief. He is identified as the Cookie Boy because he leaves cookies in every house that he robs from, as if it is an exchange for their possessions. The Cookie Boy never carries a weapon, and throughout the novel we find him to be a very intelligent character; his robberies are planned out in great detail. Even with all of his experience, The Cookie Boy manages to find himself in a great scandal when he enters a house when people are home. Before he can make a quick exit, he gets a bloody nose and two people are dead. The police do not know how the two people were killed, but they find evidence of cookie crumbs and begin to suspect him as the murderer. Carella, the main detective deals with a conflict throughout the novel. Carella's father was killed by a man named Sonny Cole; though he was not found guilty and he successfully escaped punishment. Sonny Cole still roams the world and little does Carella know that Sonny Cole has been stalking him. Carella wants justice to be served and Sonny Cole is waiting for the right moment to kill Carella, just as he killed Carella's father. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - very upbeat How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 60% Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - money/treasure The antagonists are: - gangs How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting United States Yes The US: - Northeast City? Yes City: - New York Misc setting - prison Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |
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